Manchester City escape transfer ban

BT Sport reports that new Premier League champions Manchester City have escaped a possible two-window transfer ban after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in their favour in an on-going dispute with Argentine club Velez Sarsfield.

The problem dates back to 2016 when the club signed Benjamin Garre from Sarsfield, with the Argentine team claiming that the player was only 15, and, therefore, under-age when City first approached him, before signing him days after his sixteenth birthday.

The initial complaint was dismissed because Garre, who is now 17, holds an Italian passport, and FIFA regulations allow for the transfer of minors between clubs in the European Union. However, Velez officials claimed that these provisions do not apply in this case, because Garre played for a club in Argentina, and referred the matter to CAS.

If the judgement of CAS had gone against City, then they could have potentially faced a ban from signing players in the next two transfer windows, a fate recently suffered by Atletico Madrid. Barcelona and Real Madrid have all faced similar sanctions recently.

Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.